{"id":1151254,"date":"2019-11-22T05:53:28","date_gmt":"2019-11-22T11:53:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/?p=1007424"},"modified":"2019-11-22T05:53:28","modified_gmt":"2019-11-22T11:53:28","slug":"rainbow-rare-earths-expands-into-zimbabwe-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/?p=1151254","title":{"rendered":"Rainbow Rare Earths expands into Zimbabwe"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-focused Rainbow Rare Earths (LON:RBW) has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com\/rns\/3902U_1-2019-11-22.pdf\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">acquired ten mining claims in northern Zimbabwe<\/a> as part of its mounting efforts to expand operations beyond Burundi, where it runs Gakara, Africa\u2019s only producing rare earths mine.<\/p>\n<div class='d-flex justify-content-center'>\n<div id='div-gpt-ad-1561499308230-0'><script>googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1561499308230-0');});<\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The company said the properties, covering 12.6km squared, have<br \/>\npreviously been explored for phosphate, used as fertilizer. One of them, the Kapfrugwa<br \/>\n(also known as Gungwa) deposit&nbsp;has been identified by the US Geological<br \/>\nSurvey as potentially hosting Cerium and Lanthanum<\/p>\n<p>The licences will be held 100% by Rainbow Zimbabwe, the company said, adding that it plans immediately start an exploration program that will include geological mapping, sampling and assaying. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignright\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>Rainbow already has a mine in Burundi, Gakara \u2014 Africa\u2019s only producing rare earths operation.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The goal, Rainbow said, is to conclude an interpretation<br \/>\nreport with focus on rare earths potential in terms of sizes, grades and mineralogy.<\/p>\n<p>The miner began production of rare earth concentrates <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/rainbow-rare-earths-closer-ever-kick-off-production-burundi\/\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">at Gakara mine in late 2017<\/a>. The asset, located 20km south of Burundi\u2019s capital Bujumbura, holds some high-grade rare earth elements, including lanthanum, cerium and neodymium, which are expected to become essential for the manufacturing of batteries, magnets and electric vehicles.<\/p>\n<p>Partly thanks to Gakara, Burundi\u2019s mineral exports has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/web\/burundis-mineral-exports-overtake-tea-coffee-in-hard-currency-earnings\/\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">overtaken tea and coffee as the major source of foreign exchange<\/a> for the East African nation.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Hot Commodities<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The strategic importance of rare earths, a group of 17<br \/>\nminerals used in everything from high-tech consumer electronics to military<br \/>\nequipment, has increased this year amid fears that top producer China will<br \/>\nrestrict supply to the United States as a retaliatory measure for tariffs imposed<br \/>\nby Washington earlier this year.<\/p>\n<p>Despite their name, rare earths are not rare. According to<br \/>\nthe United States Geological Survey (USGS), they are roughly as common as<br \/>\ncopper. But, because rare earth ores oxidize quickly, extracting them is both<br \/>\ndifficult and extremely polluting.<\/p>\n<p>China currently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/china-kicks-off-national-survey-of-rare-earth-resources-amid-threats-of-supply-curbs\/\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">accounts for 70% of global production<\/a>, but has lately\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mining.com\/web\/china-becomes-worlds-biggest-importer-rare-earths-analysts\/\" >reduced domestic production<\/a>\u00a0as the government cracks down on illegal mining and pollution.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/china-losening-grip-rree-bloomberg-1024x752-1024x752.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1007426\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/china-losening-grip-rree-bloomberg-1024x752.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/china-losening-grip-rree-bloomberg-1024x752-300x220.png 300w, https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/china-losening-grip-rree-bloomberg-1024x752-768x564.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>That explains why speculation of supply cuts to the US, a major buyer, has opened opportunities in other jurisdictions and boosted companies including Australia\u2019s Lynas, the only major rare earth producer outside China.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, China produced about 120,000 tonnes of rare<br \/>\nearths, while the totals of the next two leading producers \u2014 Australia and the US<br \/>\n\u2014 were 20,000 and 15,000 respectively.<\/p>\n<p>In the past three months, The Trump administration has&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/us-steps-up-efforts-to-limit-chinas-control-of-critical-minerals\/\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stepped up efforts to ensure the supply of critical minerals<\/a>&nbsp;from<br \/>\noutside China. As part of those initiatives, it recently signed a memorandum of<br \/>\nunderstanding with Greenland to conduct a hyper-spectral survey to map the<br \/>\ncountry\u2019s geology.<\/p>\n<p>Washington has also gained the support of Australia, which\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/au.usembassy.gov\/white-house-statement-trump-turnbull-meeting-strengthens-alliance\/\" >has committed to facilitate potential joint ventures<\/a>\u00a0to improve rare earth processing capacity and reduce reliance on Chinese rare earths. The mineral agencies of the both countries\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/web\/australia-signs-critical-minerals-research-agreement-with-us\/\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">signed a research agreement on Tuesday<\/a>\u00a0to quantify their reserves of critical mineral reserves. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Move is part of the company&#8217;s efforts to increase its footprint beyond beyond Burundi, where it runs the continent&#8217;s only producing rare earths mine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[2849,949,369,4],"tags":[43],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1151254"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1151254"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1151254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1151301,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1151254\/revisions\/1151301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1151254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1151254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1151254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}